Improvement in harvester-rakes



J. HQWHITNEY.

HARVESTER-RAKE;-

No.169,936. Patented Nov.16,1875.

UNITED STnTns PATENT FFIUE.

JOHN H. WnITNEx, on sT. LoUIs,"MIssoUaI, ASSIGNOR To THE SUMNER &WHITNEY MANUFACTURING COMPANY, or SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN HARVESTER-RAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 169,936, dated November.16, 1875; application filed I June 7, 1875.

I oils: 0.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN. H. WHITNEY, of St. Louis, in the county of St.Louis and State of Missouri. have invented certain Improvements inHarvester-Rakes, of which the following is a specification: I

My invention relates to those rakes or con veyers which consist ofparallel endless chains provided with pivoted folding fingers; andconsists in the employment of a stationary cam under the chain tofacilitate the tripping of the fingers, in ,devices, for lubricating thechains, in so arranging the rear chain that'it may be thrown out ofaction at will, and in other features hereinafter explained.

Figure 1 represents a top plan view of a harvester-platform providedwith my improvements Fig. 2, a longitudinal vertical section or" thesame; Fig. 3, a perspective view of a short length of my chain; Fig. 4,a perspec tive view of one of the bottom plates or rails, showing thecam and the guide thereon. Fig. 5, an edge view of the chain and pulley,showing the manner in which the latter engages with the former.

A represents a flat rectangular platform B B, parallel endless chainsmounted lengthwise in the body of the platform at proper distancesapart; O 0, wheels in the ends of the plat form carrying the chains; D,the fingers, pivoted to the chains at regular intervals, and arranged tostand above the platform, and carry the grain as they pass forward, andto fold down against the chain as they pass back within the platform.

In their general arrangement and operation the above-mentioned partsresemble those now in use; but, as hereinafter explained, they differfrom the ordinary devices in various details. The chains B are eachcomposed of a series of very short wide links, a, of cast metal, unitedby intermediate links I) of wrought metal, the links 12 consisting eachof a thin metal plateinserted through the two cast-links, folded down inshape, and secured by a rivet, c, uniting its two ends, as clearly shownin Fig. 3. The wheels 0, instead of being pro- Vided, as usual, withteeth to enter the links of the chain, are each provided with two rowsof teeth, f, one on each edge, arranged in such manneras to enterbetween and bear-upon the ends of the cast-links a, as clearly shown inFig.4.

It will be observed that'there is no wear of teeth upon the ends of thewrought-links, as usual, nor upon the inner sides of the other links. Asthe entire wear and strain of the wheels upon the. chain are received onthe outside of the cast-links, and are distributed between the two endsthereof, the chains are driven more easily, run more smoothly, and wearlonger than those arranged as. usual. The wheels 0, on which the chainstravel, are

mounted on two parallel shafts arranged in the. ends of the platform, asshown. The grain-carrying fingers D are made of an L- form, and are eachpivoted'at the angle or corner to the side of the chain, and provided atone end with a stud, e, which travels in a groove, 9, the latter beingmade of such form that, as the chain carries the teeth along on top,they are retained in an upright posi ion, while on the return they arefolded closely against the under side of the chain, and carried backwithin the platform, as shown in Fig. 2. The groove 9 at the outer endof the machine, where it is required to turn the fingers up, describesan eccentric path around the axis of the wheel, with a slightdescent asit approaches the wheel, as shown in Fig. 2.

In order to cause the studs on the teeth to ride easily into thedescending portion of the groove, and to render the motion of the teethsmooth and positive, I place a raised cam or bolster, '5, under eachchain, near the outer wheel 0, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. As the chainrides over this cam the fingers are thrown up as in dotted lines in Fig.2, and caused to pass forward smoothly and easily, their studs enteringand passing through the curved portion of the groove without dificulty.

For the purpose of retaining the chain in place snugly against thewheel, I provide a guard or shield, m. which extends partially aroundthe under side of the wheel outside of the chain, as shown in Figs. 2and l. The

chains are all driven by the single shaft carrying the severaldriving-wheels O, as shown. The wheel which drives the rear chain ismounted loosely on the shaft, and driven by a clutch, a, arranged toslide on the shaft, so that when the machine is cutting short grain,which will not extend back to the rear chain, the latter may be thrownout of action, in order to save the power required to drive it, and toprevent unnecessary wear upon it. The clutch may be constructed andoperated in any suitable manner. When considered desirable, two or moreof the chains may be arranged to be thrown out of action.

For the purpose of lubricating the chains, I mount, under the upper sideof each one, a roller, t, supported by hearings in the platform, andlocated in an oil cup or reservoir, w, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Theroller being kept in motion by the passage of the chain over it feedsthe oil from the cup to the chain, which is thus kept constantly andthoroughly lubricated.

It is obvious that thearrangement allowing the bear-chain to be thrownout of action is also applicable in those machines in which belts,instead of chains, are employed as conveyers. Y

Having described my invention, What I claim is 4 1. In combination withthe wheelG and the chain B, provided with the pivoted fingers, havingtheir culls mounted in the grooves g, the shield m, arranged as shown,for the purpose of holding thechain against the wheel and insuring theproper motion of the fingers, as shown and described.

2. In combination with the chain, provided with the pivotedfingersengaging in the groove, as shown, the stationary cam or bolster i belowthe chain, as andfor the purpose described. 3. In a grain-harvester, thecombination of parallel conveyer belts or chains, driven from a commonsource, and arranged in such manner that the rear one of the series maybe thrown out of action at will, while the others remain in action.

4. In combination with the chain 0, the oilcup w, and roller t.

JOHN H. WHITNEY.

Witnesses:

A. M. SUMNER, F. E. WASIIBUN.

